Chapter 20: Ambush In The Candy-Tree Forest
Licortwist, Frostbite Willow, Frostbite Wynter, the Sugar Rush racers's Frostbites, Frostbite Rudolph, Frostbite Adolf, and Steven entered Sugar Rush, and they stood on top of the rainbow bridge.
"So, Licortwist, I've never been in Sugar Rush before. How exactly do we get to the Candy-Tree Forest?" Frostbite Willow asked.
Licortwist looked around the landscape before he spotted the Candy-Tree Forest, which was on the outer parts of Sugar Rush. Licortwist then turned back to the others.
"I'll take you there." Licortwist replied.
Licortwist had the licorice pieces start moving him, Frostbite Willow, Frostbite Wynter, the Sugar Rush racers's Frostbites, Frostbite Rudolph, Frostbite Adolf, and Steven towards the Candy-Tree Forest. He made a quick stop at Diet Cola Mountain and placed the portal in Vanellope's former hideout. He then brought everyone to the entrance of the Candy-Tree Forest.
"So, this is the Candy-Tree Forest?" Frostbite Citrusella asked. She then gulped nervously and said "It looks kind of scary.".
Steven scoffed.
"Well then, that proves that your a coward." Steven said.
Frostbite Jubileena pushed Steven.
"Back off, Steven. Citrusella is my little sister, and I will not tolerate anyone trying to make her feel bad." Frostbite Jubileena sneered.
Steven responded by yanking on Frostbite Jubileena's ice ponytails.
"Your sister is a coward! She's just too scared to go through with the plan." Steven snapped.
"I'm not scared. I'm just..." Frostbite Citrusella started to say.
Frostbite Citrusella trailed off. Steven yanked on her ice ponytails, eliciting a yelp from the former.
"Your a big fat chicken, Citrusella. Your too scared to go in a simple forest." Steven taunted.
SMACK!
Frostbite Citrusella's hand shot out like a slingshot and collided with Steven's cheek. The Dead Space: Rise Of Evil villain went crashing to the ground and put a hand on his cheek. When Steven removed his hand, his cheek had a white hand mark on it, which disappeared immediately, thanks to his large healing factor. Steven glared at Frostbite Citrusella, and his right hand transformed into a cannon, which shot explosive shells.
"You'll pay for that!" Steven snarled.
Steven aimed the cannon at Frostbite Citrusella. However, before he could fire a shell at Frostbite Citrusella, Licortwist had the licorice pieces wrap around Steven. Steven struggled and tried using any of his abilities to free himself, but they weren't working.
"Knock it off, guys. I didn't bring you all together just for you to start fighting. We're here to convince the Nightmare racers to join us, not have them think that we're a bunch of whiny brats." Licortwist sneered.
Licortwist then had the licorice pieces let go of Steven, who brushed his outfit. Steven glared at Frostbite Jubileena and Frostbite Citrusella, but he didn't attack them, and he transformed the cannon back into his right hand. He then sighed and turned to look back at the Candy-Tree Forest.
"Let's just get this over with." Steven said.
Licortwist, Frostbite Willow, Frostbite Wynter, the Sugar Rush racers's Frostbites, Frostbite Rudolph, Frostbite Adolf, and Steven then entered the Candy-Tree Forest. Instantly, Licortwist noticed the differences that the Candy-Tree Forest had from the other forests around Sugar Rush. The forest seemed very twisted and warped, nothing like the candy cane forest that the Sugar Rush racers were used to passing through. The trees were only black with red stripes, and they towered over the trees from any other forest. The forest was very shadowy, and it felt like nighttime. And there was also a large fog that was around the entire forest. Basically, the forest looked like the perfect setting for a horror game. As they walked, Frostbite Candlehead looked around.
"This place looks terrible. It's just red and black, and no other colors. And to think that people actually live here." Frostbite Candlehead muttered.
As they continued walking, Licortwist, Frostbite Willow, Frostbite Wynter, the Sugar Rush racers's Frostbites, Frostbite Rudolph, Frostbite Adolf, and Steven found that the forest was becoming slightly more colorful. That is, the forest seemed more red then black. The ground was laced with red candy of all kind, the sky was red as well, and there were a few black clouds in the sky. But other then that, they hadn't found any signs of the Nightmare racers yet. Eventually, Frostbite Nougetsia spoke up.
"Hey, if this place is turning red, then I guess that we're entering a new area of the forest. Maybe the Nightmare racers live here." Frostbite Nougetsia said.
Suddenly, as if to reply to what Frostbite Nougetsia had said, a figure zipped past Licortwist, Frostbite Willow, Frostbite Wynter, the Sugar Rush racers's Frostbites, Frostbite Rudolph, Frostbite Adolf, and Steven and vanished into the forest. Licortwist had the licorice pieces bring him towards the direction that the figure had disappeared to.
"Who was that?" Licortwist asked, startled.
"I bet that it was one of the Nightmare racers. They know that we're here, so they're fleeing." Frostbite Rudolph replied.
Licortwist looked back at the others.
"Spread out, all of you. We need to cover more ground in order to avoid an ambush." Licortwist ordered.
Frostbite Willow, Frostbite Wynter, the Sugar Rush racers's Frostbites, Frostbite Rudolph, Frostbite Adolf, and Steven scattered off in different directions.
"I think it went in here!" Frostbite Sticky said, motioning for Frostbite Torvald to follow her to a bush.
Everyone ripped through the bush like wild animals as they searched for the Nightmare racer. When they didn't find anything, they continued searching relentlessly for the Nightmare racer. They climbed up the red and black trees, trekked through the bushes, and took apart the branches as they searched on. Their efforts eventually ended in failure.
However, just as everyone couldn't find anything after searching, a small figure appeared through the fog. Licortwist, Frostbite Willow, Frostbite Wynter, the Sugar Rush racers's Frostbites, Frostbite Rudolph, Frostbite Adolf, and Steven stared in awe at the figure. It was Mindy Saki, the gray palette swap of Minty. She looked exactly like her and even had the same kind of large bow on her head. However, her skin color was a chalky gray color, and her hair and clothing were pitch black. Mindy simply folded her arms and glared at them, not saying a word. Eventually, Frostbite Taffyta broke the tension.
"We found a Nightmare racer! Let's convince her to join us now!" Frostbite Taffyta shouted.
However, before they could do anything else, a piercing sound entered their ears. A music box had been set up behind Licortwist, Frostbite Willow, Frostbite Wynter, the Sugar Rush racers's Frostbites, Frostbite Rudolph, Frostbite Adolf, and Steven while they were distracted, and it was playing Two the Hard Way, by Allman and Cher. They screamed in agony as the music ripped into their ears like a razor blade, and they struggled to cover their ears to block out the noise, but it was a futile attempt.
"Who's playing that thing?" Frostbite Snowanna asked.
Frostbite Snowanna turned around to see none other then Joanna Rainbow, the gray palette swap of Snowanna, who was cranking the music box up to eleven, a sinister grin on her face.
Frostbite Snowanna tried to send a blast of ice at Joanna in an attempt to freeze her, but before she could, dozens of giant mirror shards were flung at Licortwist, Frostbite Willow, Frostbite Wynter, the Sugar Rush racers's Frostbites, Frostbite Rudolph, Frostbite Adolf, and Steven. However, Licortwist had the licorice pieces protect himself and the others from the giant mirror shards by forming a protective shield around them.
Finally, the shards stopped getting thrown and Licortwist brought down the licorice shield. However, the shards had somehow created a large perimeter that had boxed everyone inside. Licortwist turned to everyone with a smirk.
"Don't worry. I'll use the licorice pieces to remove the shards." Licortwist said.
However, before Licortwist could use the licorice pieces to smash the shards, he, Frostbite Willow, Frostbite Wynter, the Sugar Rush racers's Frostbites, Frostbite Rudolph, Frostbite Adolf, and Steven were suddenly bombarded by small jack-o-lanterns that were being tossed from outside of the circle of shards. The jack-o-lanterns smashed onto the ground and exploded, releasing a gray gas that spread quickly.
"Ack! What is that horrible smell?" Frostbite Minty asked, plugging her nose as the gas engulfed the trapped racers.
Licortwist quickly used the licorice pieces to smash a hole through the shards.
"Let's get out of..." Licortwist started to say.
Licortwist stopped talking and gasped when he saw the rest of the Nightmare racers, except for Penelope von Schweetz, the gray palette swap of Vanellope, and Tabitha Morton, the gray palette swap of Taffyta, show up. He turned to Frostbite Willow, Frostbite Wynter, the Sugar Rush racers's Frostbites, Frostbite Rudolph, Frostbite Adolf, and Steven.
"Attack them! They ambushed us, so we need to fight them off!" Licortwist ordered.
Frostbite Willow, Frostbite Wynter, the Sugar Rush racers's Frostbites, Frostbite Rudolph, Frostbite Adolf, and Steven nodded, and they charged at the Nightmare racers.
Lloyd Boar, the gray palette swap of Gloyd, flung a jack-o-lantern at Frostbite Rudolph. However, Frostbite Rudolph dodged the jack-o-lantern and then charged at Lloyd.
"Die! Die!" Frostbite Rudolph bellowed.
Lloyd gasped, turned around, and ran away as fast as he could. He could hear the clattering of feet, which urged him to run even faster. As he ran, Lloyd couldn't resist the urge to glance backwards. That proved to be a big mistake because he saw that Frostbite Rudolph was only inches away from him. Frostbite Rudolph was grinning as he neared Lloyd, and his eyes glowed brighter. Lloyd screamed and ran faster, but when he turned around again, he saw that Frostbite Rudolph was still just as close as ever.
"Die... now." Frostbite Rudolph whispered.
Frostbite Rudolph then headbutted Lloyd in the back. The force of the blow sent Lloyd flying several feet forward into a tree. Frostbite Rudolph snorted and then ran off to rejoin the others in the fight.
Jubilee Bin-Bin, the gray palette swap of Jubileena, tried colliding with Frostbite Willow and Frostbite Wynter with her massive kart. However, Frostbite Willow and Frostbite Wynter froze the kart's wheels, and the ice traveled up the kart before it froze the kart in place with Jubilee still in it.
Francis Butter, the gray palette swap of Rancis, was being held by the scruff of his blazer by Frostbite Sticky.
"Please, not in the face!" Francis begged.
However, that proved to be a poor choice of words as Frostbite Sticky promptly kneed him in the crotch. Francis squealed in pain and doubled over.
"Then again, maybe the face would have been a better choice." Francis squeaked in a high-pitched voice.
Francis then collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.
Steven faced off against Zadora Beezle, the gray palette swap of Adorabeezle, and Citrus Pucker, the gray palette swap of Citrusella. They tried charging at him, but Steven transformed his left hand into a chain whip that he swung at them. Instantly, Zadora and Citrus were thrown back into a tree. Mindy then tried attacking him by sneaking up behind him, but Steven sensed her, turned around, and knocked her many yards away with a palm heel strike.
Licortwist faced off against Torvar Batten, the gray palette swap of Torvald, Vicky Snit, the gray palette swap of Sticky, and Nougat Bumble, the gray palette swap of Nougetsia. They tried to tackle Licortwist, but Licortwist grabbed each of them with the licorice pieces before having the licorice pieces slam them into a tree and then throw them away like ragdolls.
Cymbeline Di Caramel, the gray palette swap of Crumbelina, faced off against Frostbite Crumbelina. Frostbite Crumbelina shot her fingers as ice picks at Cymbeline, but she dodged the ice picks by jumping into the air. Cymbelina then kicked Frostbite Crumbelina square in the gut. However, the kick sent Cymbeline flying backwards, and her shoe turned to ice. Frostbite Crumbelina then turned around and froze Swiss Malacca, the gray palette swap of Swizzle, who was trying to sneak up on her from behind.
Kendall, who had led the ambush and was the only Nightmare racer that hadn't been in the ambush, watched in horror as her friends were beaten in seconds. Soon enough, she herself was surrounded by Licortwist, Frostbite Willow, Frostbite Wynter, the Sugar Rush racers's Frostbites, Frostbite Rudolph, Frostbite Adolf, and Steven. Licortwist had the licorice pieces grab Kendall and restrain her.
"You will lead us to your kingdom, palette swap." Licortwist said.
Kendall glared at Licortwist.
"I will never lead you to Horror Rush." Kendall shouted defiantly.
Licortwist frowned.
"Okay then, we can do this the hard way." Licortwist said.
Licortwist turned to Frostbite Candlehead and nodded. Frostbite Candlehead smirked and snapped her fingers. Instantly, Swiss was unthawed, but Frostbite Candlehead kept his body still frozen while having his head remain unthawed. Licortwist had the licorice pieces grab Swiss and wrap around his body tightly. Licortwist then turned back to Kendall.
"Either you lead us to Horror Rush, or he dies." Licortwist sneered.
Kendall gasped.
"You wouldn't!" Kendall said.
Licortwist nodded.
"Oh, I will, if you continue being defiant to me." Licortwist said.
He then smirked and had the licorice pieces let go of Kendall.
"Now, let's start over again, shall we? Lead us to Horror Rush." Licortwist ordered.
Kendall looked at Swiss and then back at Licortwist. She sighed.
"Follow me." Kendall replied.
Frostbite Candlehead refroze Swiss, and then she, the rest of the Sugar Rush racers's Frostbites, Licortwist, Frostbite Willow, Frostbite Wynter, Frostbite Rudolph, Frostbite Adolf, and Steven followed Kendall as she reluctantly led them towards Horror Rush. Meanwhile, the other Nightmare racers were left behind, either beaten up or frozen solid.
But, unknown to Licortwist, Frostbite Willow, Frostbite Wynter, the Sugar Rush racers's Frostbites, Frostbite Rudolph, Frostbite Adolf, Steven, and Kendall, someone was on one of the trees, watching the battle and eventually Kendall being forced to lead them to Horror Rush. It turned out to be Tabitha, who narrowed her eyes.
"Those outsides seem interesting. I wonder what they could do for me, if I joined them." Tabitha thought.
Tabitha then climbed down the tree and started following Licortwist, Frostbite Willow, Frostbite Wynter, the Sugar Rush racers's Frostbites, Frostbite Rudolph, Frostbite Adolf, Steven, and Kendall.